USA to ? 85k rehab Bahamas? In case anyone Interested.
Not sure anyone will read this but I am posting this here because I was asked questions on another thread. This is about my 85k rehab house on Long Island Bahamas.
To give a brief background, I have been fairly exclusively investing in the US market for 20+ years (oh good grief I am showing my age) - but mentioned on another thread I actually was applying a theory and long seated desire to work from a laptop in the Caribbean:
US Economy Crash Theory
First to be abandoned - holiday homes
Second to be abandoned - Business and commercial properties
Last to be abandoned - Homes - single family residences
Thus the flow of investment opportunities
First to recover - Homes - this has happened
Second to recover - Businesses and commercial properties (still happening and bargains still out there but delusional ask prices as consumer confidence increases)
LAST to recover - holiday homes.
I thus went after holiday homes:
I bought Long Island Bahamas... an 80 mile long island that literally only had electricity put in in the 1990's (but Christopher Columbus deemed in 1493 the most beautiful island in the world).
http://www.bahamas.com/beaches-in-long
House Size: 1750 sq ft - 3br/2.5 bath, 1 car attached garage.
Block: 3/4 acre
Purchase Price: 85k - they had it listed at 160k, then 140k when I offered 80k and was countered at 85K (LOL).
Rehab - including complete gut and all new furniture, windows, doors, balconies decks, bedding, cutlery etc = $107,500 (we have gone ALL out).. French doors where all windows are..12 french doors to be precise.
Closing time - worse than a US short sale - took 10 months but I was a 'special case' in theory.
Rent: $1400 - $1500 a week... absolute peak slightly more. Est. Occupancy 50%
Return - after cleaning, maintenance and holding costs with 50% occupancy (conservative) = 12%
Title Type: Torrens Fee Simple
Ancillary Motivation: Tax free haven
View: Caribbean sunset to west, Atlantic sunrise to East. House lies at highest point on island.
You do have to go through a reference system with the Bahamian Investment Board (2 credit references, 2 personal references etc)
Be aware of title issues - they are rampant so only deal with Bahamian lawyers and estate agents.
On the plus of this - which is indeed correctly guessed at short term rental, it is an island with zero crime. I wouldn't buy Nassau if you paid me to buy unfortunately due to the crime. I also have, over the years, eliminated every other location almost in the Caribbean either by cost, government or crime. Long Island on my first visit saw my rental car at the airport with the keys in it, I let myself into the open door accommodation and beer was in the fridge... by zero crime, I mean literally zero. Everyone knows everyone - you wouldn't survive on the island without.
Property itself is in the Stella Maris Resort complex.
www.stellamarisresort.com/beaching
Think 1970's outer island Fiji (awful decor) but for the $250 a year that my HOA fees are, I have access to the 3 pools, rock pool, gym, and private beach. This island is predominantly unoccupied which appeals a LOT to the European market that spend vast sums to "escape it all".
Appeal to Oz investors is that it is a tax free haven (income is tax free)! Real estate tax per annum is literally 1%. Sadly they are literally implementing a 7.5% VAT effective Jan 1 so I just put a 60k Home Depot (Bunnings on Steroids) order in to beat that. Customs and import duties is another thing they hike but with the proximity to the US market prices, HIGHLY affordable investment.
Bahamas is literally 1 hour from the US (or 90 minutes by boat to the first island) so the feeder market of 300 million people is EXCEEDINGLY tempting. Long Island is a puddle jumper 10 minutes from Georgetown International Airport in Exuma. Or a pleasant 30 minute speed boat journey.
Will put the questions asked as reply next.
Not sure anyone will read this but I am posting this here because I was asked questions on another thread. This is about my 85k rehab house on Long Island Bahamas.
To give a brief background, I have been fairly exclusively investing in the US market for 20+ years (oh good grief I am showing my age) - but mentioned on another thread I actually was applying a theory and long seated desire to work from a laptop in the Caribbean:
US Economy Crash Theory
First to be abandoned - holiday homes
Second to be abandoned - Business and commercial properties
Last to be abandoned - Homes - single family residences
Thus the flow of investment opportunities
First to recover - Homes - this has happened
Second to recover - Businesses and commercial properties (still happening and bargains still out there but delusional ask prices as consumer confidence increases)
LAST to recover - holiday homes.
I thus went after holiday homes:
I bought Long Island Bahamas... an 80 mile long island that literally only had electricity put in in the 1990's (but Christopher Columbus deemed in 1493 the most beautiful island in the world).
http://www.bahamas.com/beaches-in-long
House Size: 1750 sq ft - 3br/2.5 bath, 1 car attached garage.
Block: 3/4 acre
Purchase Price: 85k - they had it listed at 160k, then 140k when I offered 80k and was countered at 85K (LOL).
Rehab - including complete gut and all new furniture, windows, doors, balconies decks, bedding, cutlery etc = $107,500 (we have gone ALL out).. French doors where all windows are..12 french doors to be precise.
Closing time - worse than a US short sale - took 10 months but I was a 'special case' in theory.
Rent: $1400 - $1500 a week... absolute peak slightly more. Est. Occupancy 50%
Return - after cleaning, maintenance and holding costs with 50% occupancy (conservative) = 12%
Title Type: Torrens Fee Simple
Ancillary Motivation: Tax free haven
View: Caribbean sunset to west, Atlantic sunrise to East. House lies at highest point on island.
You do have to go through a reference system with the Bahamian Investment Board (2 credit references, 2 personal references etc)
Be aware of title issues - they are rampant so only deal with Bahamian lawyers and estate agents.
On the plus of this - which is indeed correctly guessed at short term rental, it is an island with zero crime. I wouldn't buy Nassau if you paid me to buy unfortunately due to the crime. I also have, over the years, eliminated every other location almost in the Caribbean either by cost, government or crime. Long Island on my first visit saw my rental car at the airport with the keys in it, I let myself into the open door accommodation and beer was in the fridge... by zero crime, I mean literally zero. Everyone knows everyone - you wouldn't survive on the island without.
Property itself is in the Stella Maris Resort complex.
www.stellamarisresort.com/beaching
Think 1970's outer island Fiji (awful decor) but for the $250 a year that my HOA fees are, I have access to the 3 pools, rock pool, gym, and private beach. This island is predominantly unoccupied which appeals a LOT to the European market that spend vast sums to "escape it all".
Appeal to Oz investors is that it is a tax free haven (income is tax free)! Real estate tax per annum is literally 1%. Sadly they are literally implementing a 7.5% VAT effective Jan 1 so I just put a 60k Home Depot (Bunnings on Steroids) order in to beat that. Customs and import duties is another thing they hike but with the proximity to the US market prices, HIGHLY affordable investment.
Bahamas is literally 1 hour from the US (or 90 minutes by boat to the first island) so the feeder market of 300 million people is EXCEEDINGLY tempting. Long Island is a puddle jumper 10 minutes from Georgetown International Airport in Exuma. Or a pleasant 30 minute speed boat journey.
Will put the questions asked as reply next.
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